1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to firearms.
2. Description of the Related Art
The grips for firearms, hereinafter often in brief referred to as “pistols”, without the invention being limited to these weapons, serve to provide a solid grip for marksmen and to dampen the impact to the hand and, where applicable, the arm of the marksman when a shot is fired. As different users have different shapes of hands, there is a need to equip weapons with a range of grips. Firearm grips may even be specifically designed for competitive marksmen and special units, and modified for each marksman.
It is common practice for hand weapons, in particular pistols, to have a multipart grip, whereby the individual part can be exchanged for differently shaped and designed parts and/or parts of different sizes, to make the weapon suitable for users with different hand shapes. Such solutions are shown in the Smith & Wesson M&P (Military and Police) brochure (undated) for example, and U.S. 2006/0162222 A, the content of which is incorporated by reference into the present patent application.
While the former method is only viable in specific cases, the second method is both easier and more cost-effective, as it is a type of construction kit that enables users to exchange individual parts of the grip mounted on a basic structure that is also fixed to the frame of the weapon, or is attached to the weapon or follows its contour. This variant also has its drawbacks, however, as a special tool must be used to exchange the individual parts of the handpiece and in compliance with specific conditions of methodical orderliness and safety as, when the interior of the weapon is exposed, screws or other similar loose assembly parts in the weapon may be lost, thus effectively reducing the mechanical stability of the weapon's grip area, as the individual parts of the grip are similar to a housing mounted on a structure, so it is essential that the frame is both stable and solid at the mounting points and at the areas where forces are applied, etc.